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Thursday, September 25, 2008

HD Fat Boy ~ Wordless Wednesday

The picture I posted yesterday was of my Harley Davidson Fat Boy. It is the 100 year anniversary model which I bought brand new in 2003. Yes, I ride a Harley. After seeing Sheri Fenley's post at The Educated Genealogist (http://sherifenley.blogspot.com/2008/09/primer-on-setting-goals-and-reaching.html ) and her ride on the Harley (great post Sheri) I thought I would share some of my experience with Harley's and the fact that it is never to late to learn anything!

My husband wanted a Harley back in 1998, so for Christmas I gave him the down payment to get one. He was stunned. I am a firm believer that you do things while you are able, who knows what tomorrow may bring? So he bought his Harley and we never expected I would ride with him. Never say never!

I asked him after he had the bike for a bit to take me for a ride around the corner. He did and I never thought I would get on a bike again! When we turned the corner to go up the hill, I made the mistake of looking down at the road and saw how close I was to the street! I thought, I value my life, this is to scary!

A few weeks later I asked him for another ride, but this time not going up the hill, and I didn't look at the ground. Much better! Kind of fun! Eventually I was a full time passenger and we needed to get a bigger bike, which we did.

After a year or so I decided I wanted to learn to ride, in case something ever happened to him and I needed to get help. My hubby agreed that it was a good idea and I enrolled in a motorcycle course. I passed the test and earned my motorcycle license! This only led to wanting my own bike...

I learned to ride on a old Yamaha 125, out on some country roads. To make it tougher, I had never driven a stick in a car, so that concept was also new to me. About the time I was really enjoying and having fun on this garage sale toy that we paid $75.00 for (it didn't have a key we had to use a dime and kick start the thing) my husband took it away! He said I was to comfortable and it was time to buy me a Harley! Now I got really nervous. Spend all that money, what if I crash?

But that is what we did, I bought a brand new 1999 Harley Davidson Sportster! Yes, I laid it down once, but I was at a stop and picked up my feet before I gave the thing gas, so over I went. Had some nice looking young men help me and my bike up in my embarrassment before my husband could even turn around! This was my first time on the city streets, and the only time I have gone down.

Moving forward, in 2001 I decided I wanted to ride to Sturgis, South Datoka, make the most memorable trip of a lifetime on the Harley. At first my husband thought I was nuts! He said "Well, we could trailer the bikes and ride in the last 100 miles." I told him "No way! I was riding the ride!" He replied with "Then we need to get you a bigger bike." Next thing I knew I had a brand new 2001 Harley Davidson Low Rider. We made the trip to Sturgis that year, over 4000 miles, and yes it was a trip of a lifetime!

In 2003, I test rode a Harley Davidson Fat Boy and loved it. This is the model I have always admired most. Never in a million years did I think I would ride one! Having been gone a LONG time on the test ride, I think my husband got a bit nervous. I enjoyed it so much I kept going and didn't want to come back! He told me that if I liked that ride so much he had a bike to show me. Off we went and there was this gorgeous brand new Fat Boy he showed me on the showroom floor at a dealer. I can't explain how I felt seeing this bike. We bought it and it has been home with me ever since.

Over the years we have made many journeys on the Harleys. We have been to Mexico (several times), Canada and of course Sturgis. We have been to the Grand Canyon, Kings Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, Zion, Bryce Canyon, the Colorado Rockies, the Grand Tetons and more. We have done Hollister, and Reno numerous times. I have seen more of California than I ever would have seen without a bike, there are backroads I never knew existed.

I am a bit spoiled but I am not complaining! I have had three brand new bikes and now, I am getting my bike custom painted! I actually bought the paint job while in Hollister back in July. Because we ride quite a bit, I wanted to hold off on having it done so I could make several of the trips we had planned. Now the time has come and my baby will be torn apart in the next few weeks. I have added lots of chrome and rims and things, but one thing I have always wanted was Diamond Cut Heads. So now that the bike is going to be torn apart anyway, I am having my dream done also! I will be without my bike for awhile, but I am so very excited to get it done.

I wanted to share a picture of my bike, I know when it gets done it will be like a brand new bike and I will want to show it off! Also, I wanted you to know that it is never to late to learn anything! I learned to ride after my children moved out and and were on their own. As of last year I have a stick shift VW that I call my "puddle jumper" for around town. Heck, any more I leave the good car in the garage and drive the puddle jumper to work everyday, it is fun!

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About Me

At~myHeritageHappens dot com, I share my family history. I sort, learn, discuss, and analyze my family's legacy.
At~myhhsinphotos dot blogspot dot com (my Heritage Happens in Photos), I will share photos I have taken. I hope you will enjoy both of these blogs by me ~ Cheryl Palmer.
Contact info: geneaminded at gmail dot com.